The weather forecasts for tonight were not that favorable initially, as rain and strong winds were predicted.
Throughout the previous night, it indeed had rained, sometimes steadily.
However, it had been dry since the morning, except for a minor shower in the late afternoon.
But there were strong winds, as the result of a storm off the coast, which got the name Xavier when it reached Germany.
The storm struck early in the morning and traveled across the west coast to the Wadden-area with severe squalls.
The most severe squall was measured at 113 kmh (70 mph) today.
There were strong wind forces of 9 and 10 Bft at the Wadden-area and the northen part of the country.
The groundscrew did another fine job and the field not only was dry, but looked good and so, the game went underway as scheduled at 7:30 PM.
When the game started, there were still several strong squalls and a wind force of 5 Bft.
Oh, and there was a nice bright full moon right behind rightfield.
Both teams got into scoring position in the first two innings off of starters Rob Cordemans (Amsterdam) and Diegomar Markwell (Neptunus).
In the top of the first inning, Benjamin Dille doubled with one out off Cordemans, advanced on a grounder, but was left behind.
Cordemans retired the side in the second at bat.
Amsterdam reached base in both the first and second inning off of Markwell.
In the first inning, Nick Urbanus walked with two outs, but stranded on first base.
In the second at bat, Gilmer Lampe led off with a walk and stole second, despite several pick-off attempts by lefthander Markwell.
With one out, Danny Rombley also walked, but the two were left behind.
...Rob Cordemans...
...first complete 9-inning Holland Series-game...
...since September 30, 1995...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Both teams were retired in order in the third inning, then Neptunus got into scoring position for the second time in the top of the fourth and this time, the team opened the score.
Benjamin Dille led off the at bat with his second double, but Rob Cordemans then struckout powerhitter Gianison Boekhoudt.
Hereafter, no outs were made on a grounder by Dwayne Kemp.
Maybe due to the strong wind, the ball wasn't played well and a throwing error towards third base followed.
It brought Dille to third base, while Kemp, who was credited with a fielder's choice, was able to move to second base on the throwing error.
After Cordemans also had struckout Daniel Fernandes, the veteran righthander gave up a single to another veteran, Shaldimar Daantji, which gave Neptunus a 2-0 lead.
Cordemans then closed with his third strikeout in the inning.
Neptunus got into scoring position again in the top of the fifth.
Gregory Muller led off with a walk, then moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt and a grounder.
That brought Benjamin Dille the batter's box for the third time.
This time, Rob Cordemans struckout the Belgian, ending the inning.
In the meantime, Amsterdam Pirates was silenced by Diegomar Markwell.
Since walking Danny Rombley in the second inning, the lefthander retired nine consecutive hitters.
With one out in the fifth, Markwell walked Rashid Gerard (the fourth walk he issued).
Hereafter, he retired the next two batters again to keep his No-Hitter intact.
In the sixth inning, Neptunus added an insurance run when Dwayne Kemp homered down the rightfield-line off the scoreboard with one out.
In this at bat, Cordemans also struckout three more hitters to lift his total to nine, but Amsterdam now trailed 3-0.
In the bottom of the sixth, Pirates ended both the No-Hitter and the ShutOut of Markwell and Zerzinho Croes was responsible for both.
He led off with a double, moved to third base on a flyout and scored the first Amsterdam-run on a 2-out single by Kenny Berkenbosch.
Before the single of Berkenbosch, Markwell had walked Gilmer Lampe, but Amsterdam left two runners behind when Danny Rombley flied out to end the inning.
...Dwayne Kemp homered in the 6th inning for Neptunus...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Linoy Croes led off the at bat as pinch-hitter.
Last Sunday, Croes batted in the first two runs for Amsterdam.
Now, he led off with a single and moved into scoring position via a sacrifice bunt by Max Clarijs.
Hereafter, Remco Draijer reached when his drive into leftfield was dropped for an error.
Croes was unable to move, but it did led to a pitching change, as Kevin Kelly took over from Markwell.
Last Sunday, Kelly was the starting pitcher in Game 3.
Kelly gave up an infield-hit to Zerzinho Croes that loaded the bases.
Amsterdam then narrowed the deficit to 3-2 when Linoy Croes scored on a sacrifice fly by Nick Urbanus, which was caught by centerfielder Shaldimar Daantji, who made a weird move while catching the ball, which resulted in some confusion.
That was followed by another pitching change, as Loek van Mil took over and he closed the at bat by striking out Kalian Sams.
Amsterdam got close to the tying run again in the bottom of the eighth.
With one out, Kenny Berkenbosch and Danny Rombley both singled.
They advanced on a grounder by Jesse Aussems, but then stranded on second and third base when Loek van Mil closed by striking out Max Clarijs.
Rob Cordemans returned to the mound for Amsterdam in the top of the ninth inning and retired the side for the third consecutive time.
The righthander retired the last 11 hitters he faced.
Cordemans had a fine outing, struckout ten batters, walked only one and gave up only four basehits, but ended up empty-handed.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Loek van Mil also retired the side to secure the minimal lead and earn a save.
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Neptunus nips Amsterdam Pirates in fourth game Holland Series
AMSTERDAM (Neth.) -
Curaçao Neptunus nipped L&D Amsterdam Pirates 3-2 on a cold Thursday-evening (October 5) in Game 4 of the best-of-seven Holland Series.
With the win, Neptunus now leads the Final 3-1 and is one win away of becoming the champion again.
Game Four, best-of-seven Holland Series 2017.